Daoud hoped the realization would not turn de Gobignon against him.
Sophia's life might depend on the count's forgiving him.
"Have I not admitted that I waged secret war on you in Orvieto? Yes, I
killed your friend. I later was sorry I had done it, but he could have
exposed me. I hurt Friar Mathieu. But I could not kill--a priest. All
the things that thwarted you in Orvieto--they were my doing."
"I hate you for those things. For Alain especially."
"The princes of Europe and the Tartars would put countless men, women,
and children to the sword. They still may do it. That is what I came
here to fight against. To save my people."
De Gobignon shook his head. "How can you feel they are your people? You
were not born a Muslim."
"Nor was Muhammad. May God commend and salute him. My faith is the faith
of the homeless, the uprooted, the exiled. The Prophet said, _Islam
began in exile and it will end in exile_."
Friar Mathieu's bearded face and anxious blue eyes seemed to float over
Daoud. "You lie there, defeated, dying. Charles has conquered Manfred.
Does this not mean that your faith has failed you?"
"Whatever God's purpose has been for me, I have accomplished it. God may
destroy unworthy bearers of the truth, but the truth He will not
destroy."
"Do you think yourself unworthy?"
"I hope I have not been. I have tried to be a good slave to God. That is
what the word Mameluke means--slave."
_I have wandered in the desert and now I am going to the watering
place._
He wanted to say more, but there was no strength in his breath. The
silver globe was cracking like an egg, and a black, irresistible tide of
pain was pouring out.
"Take the tawidh from around my neck, Father," he whispered.
He felt fingers at his collar, and after a moment the thong slid free.
_Make me to die submissive unto Thee and join me to the righteous. I
bear witness that there is no god but God and I bear witness that
Muhammad is His servant and Messenger. Amin!_
He could not hold the pain back. He could escape it only in sleep. He
could not see Friar Mathieu or Simon de Gobignon or Rachel. His eyes
were closing. He would dream of Sophia.
* * * * *
Rachel clutched the leather capsule desperately, as if by holding it
tightly enough she could keep Daoud alive. She felt her sorrow crushing
her as if it were a great stone pillar pressing down from the sky. She
touched his cheek with her fingertips, and his face felt still as stone,
and she knew the life had gone out of him.
She sat back and tied the Muslim amulet around her neck, as she had seen
it tied around his. Then she dug the fingers of both hands into the silk
of her gown, near the collar, and pulled at it until it tore.
She put her hands over her face and let darkness sweep over her mind as
sobs shook her and her tears fell.